


The Mishaps That Do Us Good

by TheSecretFangirl



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fem!Bones - Freeform, Fluff, Genderbending, Hurt/Comfort, I mean kind of, Miscarriage, Sickfic, angst (a little bit), happy endings, in which jim and bones share a dorm room, she is cis fem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 00:31:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1878270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecretFangirl/pseuds/TheSecretFangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim feels a fist clench his heart and starts panicking because <i>what Bones is saying can’t be happening – not in a million years! She can’t be pregnant because, given the timeframe, the child might be his and she very well can’t have -</i></p><p>“Miscarried?” he whispers.</p><p>Or, what happens James Kirk returns home to find a not-so-perfect Lenora McCoy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a little 500 word self-indulgent ficlet, but it simple grew into this little monster. 
> 
> Thanks to my lovely betas: [Ruth](http://widownatasha.tumblr.com/), for helping me with minor plot errors, [Rachael](http://rachaelkelleher.tumblr.com/), for correcting my grammar errors, and [Emily](http://karlbourbon.tumblr.com/) for giving the whole thing one final green-light!

James Kirk kicks open his dorm room with a thud.

“Goodbye, Sweetie!” he shouts at the bouncy ginger standing outside. “See you later tonight.”

His back is towards the room, and when he turns around, the sight in front of him makes him double take.

“Bones?”

Bones, aka Lenora McCoy, is curled up in the king-sized bed, lying on her side in the fetal position, one hand under the pillow and the other clutching her stomach. Her legs are wrapped in a light blue cover, and her back is towards the door. She doesn’t move when she replies.

“Hey, Jim.” Her voice is feeble.

Jim is flustered because _wtf is wrong with Bones! She never lies around sick because she’s a fucking doctor! She can detect and cure her illnesses early enough._

“Uhm… is everything okay?”

Bones lifts up her head, props herself on one arm and turns to face him. Her long black hair is a tangled mess.

“Yeah, it is, kid. Why do you ask?” She fakes a smile.

Jim doesn’t buy it.

“Well, uhm.” He waves his hands wildly, draws a chair from the desk and sits down. “Well, because you’re never in bed around this time? I mean, I expected you to be at work. I thought I was going to be alone in this room for a couple of hours.”

Bones raises a casual eyebrow.

“You had plans for today, kid? I’m sorry I ruined them,” she drawls sarcastically. And then a pained gasp escapes her.

“Bones…” Jim begins. Lenora’s resolute face dares him to question her and he accepts the dare. _Haha! Joke’s on you, Bones. Now, you have to tell me what’s wrong_.

“Is everything alright?”

She gives him one of her patented looks of doom and collapses back on the pillow.

“Yes, it is. I’m totally fine.” Her voice breaks. She clutches her stomach with one hand while pulling the cover over her face with the other.

“I’m just tired. Let me sleep”

“Like hell you are!” he screams. “There is definitely something you aren’t telling me!”

He stands up from his chair and goes to sit on the bed next to her.

“Go away, Jim.”

Jim’s anger rises.

“What is it, Bones? You always get to take care of me and you never let me take care of you! Remember what we said to each other when we decided to move to a couple’s room?”

He moves closer to her and lies down, copying her pose.

“What about it?” she grumbles.

“Well, I clearly remember you telling me, ‘Jim, we may not be a couple but sharing a room with you would let me take care of your corn-stuffed ass every time you hurt it.’ And I said, ‘Only if you let me take care of yours’. And then you threw a pillow at me.”

“Enuggggh,” she grunts. “I did say that, but you don’t really wanna know what’s wrong with me, kid.” Her voice sounds strained and sick.

Jim pulls the cover away from her face. He looks her in the eye with such a fierce, protective look – _Bones, just tell me about it already!_ – that she sighs and sits up. She takes a deep breath before giving up her secret.

“I may be on my period, Jim.”

“Oh…..”

“Humph. Told you, you didn’t wanna know”

She tries to cover her face again, but Jim doesn’t let her. He holds her shoulders in his large hands and continues gazing at her.

“Bones, I know that look. There’s something else wrong, isn’t there? You must be getting periods since I don’t know, _forever_!” His arms flap around wildly. “But I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“Maybe I’m just over worked.”

“Or maybe you’re hiding things.”

A minute of awkward silence follows. It’s broken by Jim’s concerned whisper.

“Why won’t you just tell me?”

A single tear slips down Lenora’s cheek. A second one follows, and then a third. She can’t control herself and, pretty soon, her cheeks are doused in the salty fluid. The silent tears keep flowing and then a heaving sob wracks her body. She throws her arms around Jim, wrapping him in a big hug.

“Oh, Jim. Jim, Jim, Jim. I skipped my period for the last two months and I didn’t even notice. And now I’m bleeding again and it hurts so much I can barely move my legs. My stomach feels like it’s gone riding on a wild untamed horse, it’s so painful and I think I may have been pregnant and now I may have, I may have -”

She hugs him tighter and buries her face in his shoulder. Jim rubs her back. He feels a vile fist grip his heart. The fist starts clenching it and he starts panicking because _what Bones is saying can’t be happening – not in a million years! She can’t be pregnant because, given the timeframe, the child might be his and she very well can’t have_ -

“Miscarried?” he whispers.

“Yes. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but it’s a possibility. And it hurts so, so much. Goddammit, I’ve never had it this bad.” She cries.

“Oh god Bones!” He rubs circles on her back and gently lays her down. “Let me take you to the hospital.”

“No! Dammit, Jim, I’m a doctor; I don’t need a hospital.”

“Shhh. Okay, Bones. Whatever you say. Shhh, please stop crying.” He rubs her face with his palm, wipes away her tears and gets up from the bed. He picks up his phone from the desk and proceeds towards the door, saying “Just cancelling plans! I’ll be back soon.”

Bones just clutches her stomach, curls up and continues crying.

“Damn hormones,” she whispers to herself.

*

Jim re-enters the room after about fifteen minutes.

“Hey, I brought you something.” He sits down on the bed and draws a packet from his bag.

“I don’t need anything you have. I just need to cry and rest.” Her back faces him and she doesn’t feel like getting up.

“Shh, Bones, it’s okay. Just stay where you are. I’m not asking you to move. I just brought you some pain meds and a hot water bottle.”

Despite herself, she turns towards him with a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Jim. That’s really nice of you. I appreciate the concern.” Her face is still wet with tears.

“It’s what friends are for.” He smiles. “I know it’s really hard for you to get up, so I am going to support you and give you the painkillers. Is that okay?”

“Okay.”

Jim opens up a painkiller and places it in her hand. He grabs a water bottle from the side table and uncaps it. He puts one hand on her back and helps her sit up a bit. She places the medicine in her mouth and gently puts the bottle to her lips, swallowing it. Jim then helps her lie down again.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

“Now, I am going to massage your stomach with this hot water bottle, and cuddle up with you, and the only thing you have to do is slip away to sleepy-land filled with cute fluffy dreams. I promise things will be better in the morning. We’ll work it out. Is that fine with you?”

“Yeah, it is. Oh, thank you so much, Jim. I never expected you would do this.”

“Hey, don’t think so lowly of me!” he teases.

Bones manages a smile and Jim is glad for that.

He places the hot water bottle on her stomach. It feels nice and warm and Lenora is really glad to have it. Jim then starts massaging her legs. He rubs them in slow circles, pressing them gently at first and then harder and then slower again. She gives a sigh of pleasure and turns on her side. Now her back is towards him, so he moves his hands upward and rubs her back. He continues doing so for a while and, when her breathing becomes slower, he mentally sends a prayer to the gods of sleep. He curls up next to his best friend, puts an arm around her middle and throws one leg over her, just to keep them cozy. The pair sleeps peacefully.

*

Jim wakes to the sound of sheets shifting and a sleepy Bones trying to get out of bed. He takes a glance at the clock and when he sees it’s just 3am, he sleepily mumbles, “You okay?”

“Yeah, just trying to go to the toilet. Go back to sleep, Jim.”

“Okay!” Jim enters that stage between wakefulness and sleep. A part of his brain is shut off but another part is up waiting for Bones to return.

Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek emerges from the bathroom.

Jim scrambles out of the bed and runs to the bathroom. He pounds on the door.

“Bones, you okay?”

There is no reply.

“Bones!”  
Still nothing.

Jim panics and kicks open the bathroom door. The view that greets him is upsetting. Bones lies on the floor, surrounded by a pool of her own vomit. Evidently, she was trying to puke in the toiled bowl, but had tripped and hit her head on the floor.

Jim feels the air rush out of his lungs. He hurries out of the bathroom and dials the ambulance. While waiting for it to arrive, Jim tries to test out the knowledge about first aid he had gathered from Bones. He slowly turns the unconscious woman on her back and tries to get a response from her. She doesn’t wake up. He checks her breathing and it seems pretty normal. So does her pulse.

Jim is really worried and _oh gosh, he wants the ambulance to come asap, he couldn’t forgive himself if something happens to Bones. It’s his fault she wasn’t at the hospital last night. He should have forced her more, done something, he shouldn’t have just let her lie in bed -_

A knock on the door startles Jim’s thoughts. He opens the door and the medics rush in. They follow him to the bathroom, a scary medic lady checks Lenora’s breathing and pulse while the others carefully pick her up and move her to a stretcher. Jim can’t do anything but watch worriedly as they rush her out of the room.

“Sir, do you want to accompany your wife to the hospital? You can sit with her in the back,” the scary medic lady asks him.

Jim doesn’t bother correcting her.

“Yes. Yes, I will go with my Bones.” She gives him a weird look. He just shrugs.

He climbs into the ambulance and sits on the narrow seat beside her. He grabs the hand not attached to an I.V. tube and holds onto it for dear life, just hoping that it’s enough.

“Bones, please. Wake up!” Jim is close to tears, he doesn’t want to think about what would happen if she doesn’t, _it’s all his fault! If only he hadn’t coerced her into having sex with him those months ago, if only he had noticed her overworking, if only he had taken her to the hospital earlier, everything be dammed! Jim couldn’t deal with it any longer._

“I don’t wanna lose you,” he said pathetically.

The scary lady barks legalities at him. He answers passively.

The medics around him continue doing their duties.

Jim watches teary eyed.

“Will she be okay,” he asks aloud.

The scary lady replies with a stoic look on her face. “It’s too early to say”.

*

Jim’s next memory is of the medics rolling Bones through glass doors. He remembers rushing behind people in scrubs _._ They are calling out orders to each other _, screaming incomprehensible words that make no sense to Jim. God, he just hopes what they are saying will make her better!_

He sees more people in scrubs running out from some abysmal depths in a very choreographed pattern. They wheel Bones to an ER and Jim elbows those medics, desperately trying to follow.

“I need to be there!” His hair is a mess, his nightclothes are a wreck, but the fabled womanizer doesn’t give a fuck about these things right now. He _needs_ to be with Bones, those people can’t take her away. He doesn’t trust them enough to take care of her.

“Sir, you have to wait outside,” a nurse barks at him. He proceeds to push Jim into an empty chair outside the room and goes inside. There’s no window to the ER, so Jim can’t peep inside, and he’s left alone with his thoughts.

He slumps against the cold steel chair, joining his knees together and crushing his elbows on them. He clutches his golden hair and then tugs at it. He wants to pull it out, because that would hurt so, so much and the pain would distract him from the pain he feels at losing Bones.

He has no idea how long he sits there. The cacophony of hospital noises continues playing in the background. There are bleeps and dings and calling out orders and people crying and Jim wants them to _shut up! Everything should be silent and peaceful for Bones. It’s his fault. He put her here, this is her home territory. She should be the one making those sounds, not the one bearing their insults_. Jim bangs his head against the chair repeatedly. He closes his eyes and wants to cry but the tears don’t come. It’s just anger at himself that remains now.

There is the seemingly distant sound of doors opening, and Jim peeks up to find a nurse standing in front of him.

“She’s out of the woods.”

Jim jerks up.

“I – what?” A hopeful gleam shines in his eyes. Perhaps, Bones can be saved after all.

The nurse places a hand on Jim’s shoulder and squeezes it.

“She’s conscious, but not awake. She’s okay for now but she’s still sleeping.” Jim’s face drops. “Don’t worry, though; she’ll recover magnificently. We’ll keep her in the ER for a while and then move her to a private room,” the nurse continues.

“Oh! But can I go and see her now?”

The nurse gives him a pleasant smile.  “Yes. Yes, you can, Mr.…”

“Kirk.”

“Right!”

The nurse smiles again and holds the door open for him. Jim is lead to a bed around which a team of doctors stand.

“We’ll give you two some privacy now,” one of them says.

They all leave and move away to different stations. Jim stands alone beside her bed. For a moment he is unsure about what to do or say, because _all this is his fault_. So he just stands by her bedside awkwardly. Even though he’s glad Bones is going to recover, he’ll never forgive himself. _He loves her so much and she doesn’t deserve an asshole like him. Wait, what did he just say to himself? He loves her? Oh. Right, he does. He totally does. He was a fool not to see it until now, and he knows Bones would never accept him, especially not after what he did to her. Besides, he’s too much of a younger brother to her. Still, now is probably the perfect time to confess his feelings because she wouldn’t hear him. Letting them out would go him good._

“Bones.” He steps closer. He sits down on a plastic chair that’s near her bed. He wants to take her hand in his, but he won’t, fearing it will wake her up and make him chicken out. A strand of hair lies on her closed eyes and he longs to tuck it behind her ear, but he doesn’t.

“God!” he huffs. “This is going to sound like one of those cliché movie scenes where the loss of someone makes you realize that you love them, but what can I say. This is it, the truth. The whole, pure, unadulterated truth. I love you. I have always been in love with you. I want to kiss you, and be with you forever, but I know that can’t happen; it’s just too stupid. Because, soon, you’re going to wake up and be mad at me for all this, and call me a ‘cotton eyed Joe’ or something crazy like that. And I will just have to pretend I’m okay with it and ignore that I am secretly in love with you – oh, fuck, I’m rambling! This is so unlike me.” He pauses, takes a heavy breath and continues. “Just, just, okay! I’m sorry, Bones. I’m sorry that I hurt you and I’m sorry for falling in love with you. You don’t need a shit like me.” His buries his face in his hands.

“Jim?” He hears a questioning voice and looks towards the bed to find Bones gazing at him with puzzled eyes.

“Bones! You’re awake,” he shouts gleefully. “I… I-”

He pauses upon seeing the mischievous smile on her face.

“It’s okay, kid. I heard it. I heard every single word you said.”

Jim’s smile drops.

“You what?”

“Jim. Did you really mean everything you said?” she whispers.

He blushes and then raises a hand to rub the back of his neck.

“I errr… uhm… just”

“It’s okay, darlin’.”

His eyebrow peaks up at an angle that would make a steep hill proud. Bones raises her hand from where it lies – crossed on her chest. Jim grabs it instinctively and kisses it. He thinks he hears her whisper, _“I love you, too.”_

He looks at her hopefully. “Cross my heart and hope to die?”

She just teases him.

“Damn it, Jim! I’m a doctor, not someone who falls for an idiot!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> Please comment/kudo/share.
> 
> Also, if you are still here, a bonus, fluffy epilogue follows.


	2. Chapter 2

**EPILOGUE**

The wedding was a small affair. James and Lenora had just invited their families and a couple of mutual friends from college. They had been together for seven years now and it was _perfect_.

They don’t remember when they decided to make their relationship official. They had been together since that one eventful night, involving a miscarriage and a secret confession, but they were past it now. One night, while they were simply chatting about life, the universe and everything, the subject of marriage had come up and Jim had proposed. Bones had accepted.

*

Jim feels _happy_.

He is dressed in an immaculate suit and smells amazing – like lemons and freshly mown grass. It’s Bones’ favorite scent. There is a huge smile plastered on his face and his left thumb fingers the pleasant weight around his ring finger.

A wedding song plays in the distance, but Jim doesn’t hear it. He doesn’t feel the lushness of the carpet beneath his feet. His self is all for the woman standing by the altar – a woman who has no right to be this sexy, a woman with hazel eyes, who is looking at Jim with _that_ grin on his face.

God, Jim loves her so much. He has no idea how he would have survived college without her. Jim doesn’t know what he has done to deserve someone like Bones, doesn’t understand how she could possibly love him back but, hey, he’s not complaining. His bliss is soaring and the rest of the time passes by in a flurry. He has no idea what’s going on, but he loves it. He is so unbelievably happy, he could get drunk on it. His mind’s blurry, but there’s music and dance and the face of this woman amongst all the mess, and now Jim’s kissing her and nothing makes sense anymore, because it’s the best thing _ever_.

*

That night in bed, Jim whispers to Bones “Do you want to have a baby with me?”

“After all this time?” she asks.

“Always” says Jim.

*

_(“You did not just Harry Potter me.” “Yes, I fucking did. Now let’s shut up and have some fun.”)_

 


End file.
